Legend of the Almost Heroes
by Kageriah
Summary: What's right isn't what's good or evil or something you'd die for; those are just words to reassure the weak. What's RIGHT is what you'll never give up on, and no matter how many times you get your ass kicked, you'll always come back to fight for it again
1. I'm Free

**A/N:** Okay. So far, I think this is the best story I've written (or am in the process of writing), and if you don't like any parts of it, please review about your issues so that I can fix it.

I am very proud of it, so please, keep the insults away, or else I will end up crying a river and electrocuting myself with wet technology. That would not be very pleasant, and I will put in my will (Which is a spur-or-the-moment thing, I would write it quickly and weakly because I am awesome and will survive the electrocution for 2 minutes… and then I'll die) that you killed me.

**Warning: **Complete and utter insanity. I'm not that good with crazy people, seeing as I am one, and am trying to hide it, so I will mislead you by writing it the wrong way.

Quote by R.G. Waffles (on fan fiction): **Real emotions. Some people call it "OOC".**

**You Can't Take Me:**

**Bryan Adams**

- _Spinning…Burning! It hurts! It hurts!_

They dragged him, hand cuffs and all, out of the cell. His neck hurt, his throat was parched, and he felt as though his eyelids were led. His feet dragged along the white tiled floor as he was hauled by the arms towards the visitor center, but that wasn't right; who would be there to visit _him_?

_- Shaking… Aching—Pain! It hurts! It hurts!_

The guards, garbed in a dark color_—_dark blue, or green, or even an absence of light, as though it was a black hole that absorbed everything_—_shoved him into a dark room with a desk and a light and forced him to sit down before restraining his legs, releasing his hands, and tying them to the armrests.

He struggled to free himself from the bonds, but he was too weak. This was what three years of imprisonment did to even the strongest Uchiha.

-_ Screaming, skin tearing, lungs drowning! It hurts! It hurts!_

"You've got visitors, Uchiha-_sama_!" sneered one of the guards, slamming the steel door of the room behind him.

For the first time, he noticed. He should have been able to detect them, see them, smell them or _at least_ hear them, but his abilities were rusty.

There were two presences in the room: a man and a woman. They were very familiar, but he just couldn't quite put his finger on their names.

"My god, Sasuke, what have they done to you?" asked the man, a blonde, outraged. He didn't answer, he just looked at them through dull, black eyes.

"Do you think_—_do you think he has lost his mind?" asked the female, her rosy, pink hair standing out in the dull room.

He snorted: an Uchiha lose his mind—no way! He stared directly at the girl's dark, green eyes and remembered with a jolt—

"Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto, why are you here? I thought you supported the Sannin," he said, and though his voice cracked, there was an air of arrogance about him.

"I realize that you might not trust us," said Naruto, loosening his black tie and unbuttoning the cuffs around his wrists, "but we came here for a reason."

"Sasuke… We came to help you," said Sakura as she smoothed the flowery summer dress she was wearing.

"Help me?"

"Sasuke, we realized that—"

"You want to help me?" Sasuke made sure to be as bitter as possible. "Then where were you three _fucking_ years ago? Where were you when Orochimaru cursed me?"

"Sasuke, we didn't know that—"

"You didn't know what? That after handing me to the authorities I wouldn't be so keen on seeing you again?" he snorted.

Sakura looked like she was going to tear up. "Sasuke, I know what we did wasn't right, but we didn't _know_! Tsunade practically raised me, and same with Jiraiya and Naruto! Do you know how hard it was to decide to come here—to betray everything we know to help you?"

"Honestly, I couldn't give a flying fuck about your damn _help_," that silenced Sakura. She just rested her elbows on the desk and put her head in her hands.

"Sasuke!" Naruto scowled. "You're pathetic to yell at a lady like that!"

Sasuke's eyes widened. _Pathetic. _That word had been burned into his mind a hundred times over.

-_ "Pathetic, you're pathetic! You're the reason that your friends will die!" "You're so pathetic!" Yelling… Fighting, breaking, kicking, straining… It hurts! It hurts!_

He stared at the floor and silently whispered, "I'm pathetic…"

Naruto blinked. What had happened to the Uchiha?

"Sakura-chan, what happened?" he asked.

"I don't... I don't know," she said, lifting her head.

Sasuke sat, looking at the floor. His eyes were far off and he didn't answer their calls. Naruto looked at Sakura and gaped. _What was she doing?_

"What are you doing?" _  
_

She had drawn her fist back and was gaining energy, "I have to punch him to get him out of this state, or who knows what could happen?"

CRACK.

She stretched over the desk and punched his cheek, sending him crashing against the steel door behind him.

-_ Pain, pain! It hurts! It—_

"Ouch…" he complained, rubbing his abused jaw. "What the..?"

What had happened? One minute, he was yelling at Sakura, and the next, he was sprawled on the floor with an enormous ache in his jaw.

"You went into a state of shock. Does that happen often?" asked Sakura.

"Shock?" he asked, "Oh, yeah, I guess. Why?"

"They must have done something really bad to you…"

Both of the visitors stared at Sasuke.

"It make could also have been inflicted upon him by a drug. Many drugs can cause a feeling of euphoria, induce an out-of-world experience and make the user feel really good, or make the user have flashbacks."

"But why would anyone use the drugs?" asked Naruto.

"Well, so many people think that using drugs is the only way out or—hey, wait, Naruto, we learned about this in the academy! You should know this!"

"Oh, um, I was probably sleeping—wait that means Sasuke was using drugs!" Naruto realized, his stomach clenching with worry as he turned to his best friend.

Sasuke scoffed, "You think I would _actually_ do drugs? You know me less than I thought!"

Naruto flinched in annoyance, "Teme…"

"Dobe, of course I didn't—no, I shouldn't even bother. You're not worth it," he hoped that set off Naruto's anger (not that he wanted his old friend to be angry; he just wanted them _out_).

"This doesn't necessarily mean that Sasuke is using drugs! That might be one way the guards wanted to gain information!" shouted Sakura, annoyed with the males' constant bickering. "Why do you guys always fight?"

"Because Naruto's too damn stupid to understand that I want to be left alone," Sasuke said. There. That would male him angry.

"Damn it, Sasuke! We came here to help you and this is how you pay us back? Let's leave, Sakura-chan," Naruto headed to the door.

He threw it open and escaped the tiny visitor's room. Sakura sighed and followed him, only stopping to place something on the desk.

The door slammed shut behind her, but it wasn't closed for long. Soon, one of the guards of the prison entered. Sasuke quickly hid the item that Sakura had given him—a key, which he assumed unlocked his cell—and sighed. The man untied his bonds, grabbed his right forearm, and cuffed his hands behind his back.

Sasuke was quickly thrown back into his cell. He waited until he heard the guard leave and then slid the key out of his sleeve. It fell and almost hit the floor (he cringed; then one of the guards would come in and know what was going on), but it stopped in midair. Sasuke smirked: the effect of the drugs that he had been given were wearing off and his telekinetic abilities were coming back!

He stood shakily and wove his arms around the bars of his cell carefully; he didn't want to get the cuffs stuck. He inserted the key into the lock and silently waited for the _click_ of it. When it opened, he quickly scurried out and opened the outer door, which was carelessly left unlocked. He was free.

_-Blinding, frightening! For a moment, he let the memories flood his mind, but then the pain was gone. Now, for one moment before chaos erupted again and Sasuke was whisked away on a frightening adventure, he would enjoy this pleasant euphoria._


	2. I Want to Break Free

**A/N: OMFG. NO F'N WAY. I JUST FREAKIN' UPDATED! UPDATE! ****YES! ****Do you know how **_**long **_**it has been? I don't! But now, my dear, wonderful, beloved, amazing, sexy, beastly, beautiful, hairy, brilliant readers, I finally have a second chapter to this amazingly wonderful story I'm writing!**

**FYI: This is a Naruto X -Man crossover. There are no pairings **_**yet**_**. I most likely will not focus on romance because I utterly FAIL at it. **

**Disclaimer: it's called **_**fan**_** for a reason, isn't it?**

**| | | I Want to Break Free | | |**

**Queen**

…**..**

Allen sighed as he slurped up more ramen. Not a day had passed when he didn't think of Sasuke, Suigetsu, Karin, Lavi, and Jugo. It still felt as it had been just yesterday that they had been captured, although it had actually been three years.

It had been the day of a solar eclipse, and it was dark as night. The six members of Hebi had planned an attack on the capital of Orochimaru's district, Oto. All had been according to plan; the hundreds of warriors that lived in the capital were kept in check by Karin's ability to control minds, and they had gotten into Orochimaru's underground palace. Jugo and Suigetsu stayed back to stall the sound five, and Allen and Lavi ended up fighting Orochimaru's apprentice, Kabuto. In the end, all of Hebi was captured, and only Allen escaped.

He guessed that Sasuke and the others had been taken to Oto's prison, the most guarded facility in the entire world. No one had ever escaped, and no one ever would.

He sighed and rested his chin in his palm, his elbow pressed against the table. He wished that there was something he could do. He had walked around the prison tower a hundred times in disguise, but he could find no openings.

The building was a fortress! It was wide and circular, with a hallway across the diameter of each floor. There were no windows (that he could see), and only one entrance at the front.

Allen slowly stood up, tossed three coins—the cost of ramen was so expensive now—and headed out the door, turning and heading for the prison. It was a short walk; the ramen stand had been only one block from the tower.

He raised his head and stared at the top floor, knowing that was where his friends were imprisoned. He wanted to save them…

(He rose his eyes higher, admiring the clear, blue sky that portrayed peace, as though it was oblivious to all the horrors of the earth below it.)

… And he would.

Sasuke quickly hurried down the hall to a window at a dead end. All along the sides were doors to more cells, and somewhere, Karin, Suigetsu, Jugo, and Lavi were being held.

When he reached the window, he looked out and his stomach lurched. He was on the top story of the prison, which was over a hundred floors high!

The window he was looking out of was probably disguised on the outside, so none of the outer guards would see him. Speaking of which, where were all the hallway's guards?

He shrugged that last thought off, believing he would encounter them soon enough, and headed back down the hall. He stopped after crossing the radius of the building and entered a little hastily created guards' room. There was a table in the center of the room and interrogation and meeting rooms to the sides. A coat hanger stood by the door, and along the back wall were fifty lockers. The room was only missing one thing: the guards.

There were absolutely no guards on the premises. Sasuke checked each room and though he knew this was probably a trap, he grabbed the large keychain nailed into the coat hanger and left the room. He would have to try every room because he had no idea where his friends were.

He tried the first three rooms on the right with no success and was about to open the forth when he heard footsteps from the stairwell. He quickly threw himself against the wall and edged over to the opening of the stairwell, raising his still-cuffed hands to strike.

A guard entered the hallway and he threw his arms around the man's neck, using the chain of his handcuffs to strangle him.

The man gagged, grabbing the chain and trying to yank it off, but Sasuke wouldn't budge. He only tightened his grip and the guard's knees buckled. The man fell to the ground, still strangled, and looked up at his assailant, eyes widening as he did.

"S-Sasuke!" he rasped, reaching up to his helmet and pulling it off, "S'm-me!"

Sasuke immediately recognized the head of shaggy white hair, grey eyes, and red scar of his friend, Allen Walker, so he quickly let the boy go. Allen gasped, falling to his hands and knees and breathing rapidly. A long red chafe ran across his neck, bleeding rapidly.

"Allen, what are you doing here? And what are you wearing?" he asked as he tore a strip of his shirt for a bandage.

"I-" he broke off in a flurry of coughing, "I disguised as a guard to get in. I'm the reason the other guards are gone."

Of course, Sasuke nodded; Allen had the ability to absorb three powers of his choosing. He must have used one of those to get the guards away.

"So, what have you got?" asked Sasuke, helping Allen stand.

"Right now, I have Karin's mind control, Kanda's light, and..." he stopped.

"And what?" asked Sasuke.

"Well, um, you have to understand that I was really, _really_ drunk when I absorbed this-"

"Just tell me, okay?" he gave Allen _the _glare.

"Well, I, um, have Konohamaru's, um..."

"Spit it out!"

"Snchy lrdir terchnyk..."

"What?"

"Sexy Lady Technique!" he shouted.

Sasuke twitched.

Allen stared.

Sasuke twitched again.

Allen stared some more.

Sasuke slapped his forehead.

Allen blushed.

"I never thought I would ever feel like laughing at someone as much as I do now," Sasuke smirked.

"_A_nyway, shouldn't we be looking for the team?" Allen asked, snatching the keys and opening the next door-

And then he was soaked.

"What the _hell _do you want now, you bastards?" shouted a familiar voice.

"Hello, Suigetsu," said Allen, shaking the water off of himself.

Sasuke had stopped the water in midair and walked around it. He took the keys back from Allen, ignored Suigetsu, who was trying to understand how he was being broken out of this high securety prison, and went to the next door, and the next door, and the next door, and the next door... and the next door. He was looking for the others.

Allen, after explaining the situation to Suigetsu, stood there watching Sasuke in amusement.

Sasuke, being the stubborn ass that he is, wouldn't give in. He would definitely unlock each of these three hundred doors, using the three hundred _extremely _inconvenient keys, pushing each _extremely _heavy door (and this is Sasuke we're talking about)... each of them... one at a time...

"Oh, screw this!" he shouted, raising his arms into the air.

"Shit!" cursed Suigetsu as he and Allen ran back into the cell for safety measures.

All the doors in the hall flew off their hinges and hit the doors opposite them in the center of the hall. They froze and created a wall through the hall.

Silence. Allen and Suigetsu stood in shock. No matter how many times they saw that, it never got old.

Curious heads peeked out of each door as the people (and things) inside the cells gathered their wits. Three of the people Allen recognized were Tenten, who had perfect aim (it's more convenient than it sounds), Officer Moore, who was a police officer with no power, and Pakkun, a dog that could turn into a human. What they were doing there, he had no idea, but he didn't have time to help them; he had to get his team and get out.

Sasuke looked around for any familiar faces. He couldn't find any of his team. Was it possible that they weren't there?

No, he thought, we're one of _his_ biggest threats. He wouldn't put us anywhere but his top security prison.

"SAUCY-CHAN!" cried an ecstatic someone before he pounced on Sasuke's back and forced him to the ground.

Well, he found one of them.

Idiot.

"Oof!" grunted the disenchanted raven head, glaring at the ground that just happened to be squashing his face.

He pushed the giant heap of Lavi off of his back and stood. "It looks like three years in prison doesn't stand a chance against your obnoxious behavior."

"Aw, Saucy-chan, you know you love it!" Lavi whined. "And Jugo didn't mind when I did it to him."

"Jugo? Where is he?" Sasuke wanted to find his friends and get out.

Lavi pointed over to Allen and Suigetsu, who had just been engulfed into a giant bear hug by Jugo.

"And Karen?" Sasuke asked.

Lavi's smile faded and he looked down. "Well, um... I don't know how to say this..."

Oh no. She wasn't dead, was she?

"She's been taken to Konoha by your sensei."

Oh.

Oh no.

Oh shit!

Damn!

They were _fucked_ (pardon his French).

Kakashi was _very_ good at manipulating people. He convince a super buff gangster to run around the town in a tutu singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"! He would no doubt turn Karin against Hebi and have her spill their deepest, darkest secrets (like how Lavi used to draw unicorns on his paper pad all day when he was supposed to be studying).

They would have to find her.

Sasuke headed down the hallway and down the stairs. He would get out of there, and fast.

His teammates followed behind him, still chattering happily because they found each other.

"Sasuke?" Allen asked, noticing his foul mood.

"I swear, when I get ahold of Kakashi-sensei... Twinkle, twinkle, my _ass_," he muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"I said, 'We've got to get out of here fast'."

"Where are we going?" asked Jugo.

"Yeah, it's not like we can waltz into town and pretend everything is alright," said Suigetsu.

"We're going to go somewhere safe and away from the Districts. Someplace where we can get help. And I know it's not the smartest idea, but it's the only one we've got.

"We're going to Akatsuki."


	3. Sidestories: They Come in Three

A/N: I'm sorry for the delay. Since I'm out of the hospital and bored, I've decided to get back to my stories.

III: Decisions

BANG.

The sword was molded beautifully, but the time it took…

BANG.

…was definitely not worth it.

_BANG._

Seriously, who the _hell_ would waste away creating swords for a kingdom that couldn't even appreciate his craftsmanship?

_BANG._

Oh, right… he did. So what if this was the last sword he would make? So what if it was the best? It was going to those bastards back in Oto. The same bastards who imprisoned _his _moyashi and _his_ usagi.

_BANG._

And the rest of Hebi. Luckily, they escaped. But were they hurt? Had they been killed during their escape or captured by a bounty hunter?

Damn, he should really stop thinking about them.

_BANG._

It wasn't like he cared, right?

_BANG!_

Okay, so he cared (no one would ever hear these words from his mouth). But what could he do about it? He didn't know where they were going. They couldn't go to Konoha or Ame or Mizu or Oto or Suna or any of the other hidden villages. And the only places they could go outside of the Sannins' jurisdiction were the Black Order, Akatsuki, and various—

BANG!

—fugitives' homes. But would they really want to stake out with Haku and Zabuza? And he doubted they'd go to the order since the spy, Link, who had been a good friend, was finally exposed and sent to rot in the dungeons of the Black Order. Bastard.

_BANG!_

Wait. Hadn't Sasuke said something about Akatsuki? It was a last resort, but it was safe… why?

_BANG!_

_"We can go there if we need to. I have connections there."_ Oh. So that was it.

_BANG!_

They were going to Akatsuki. Should he care? They'd be safe there.

_BANG!_

But he'd be missing out on all the action.

_BAN—_"Fuck this!"

He dropped his hammer next to the already finished sword. The blade was long and sharp and the handle was dull. But it called to him. It would not be going to Oto with him. No, he would go to Akatsuki with it.

He would keep this _Mugen._

…

Miss Halevy was once a beautiful woman. She was a ballet dancer. She sang and pranced and loved and danced. But now she was a mother. In her age she had gained weight and wrinkles and the flab from her pregnancy had never left her. She was still pretty though. It was just in a more mature and soft manner than before. Her once sharp brown eyes had mellowed into warm pools of caramel. And she had given up dancing, preferring to look after orphaned kids.

This mess about the Sannin and fugitives was really splitting the orphanage. The soldiers killed some of the children's parents, Akatsuki and the Black Order killed some… and some were killed by the ANBU. The children orphaned by the first two were obviously set against each other, but the children orphaned by the ANBU could really choose sides because no one knew much about the group. The ANBU didn't fight for anyone. They killed whomever they pleased and fought whomever they pleased. The members wore sandals with black pants and tops under bone white vests and masks depicting animals most alike to their personalities. They were the things of nightmares and were hardly spoken about for fear that the speaker would be targeted next. They were indeed spirits.

However, as bad as the ANBU were, they weren't careless. There were only one or two orphans of their victims. On the other hand, the fugitives and Sannin were reckless. They killed and didn't care who they killed or the consequences because this was war and there were no consequences. The kids in the orphanages all hated each other, starting food fights and other fights and just being prejudiced because of their parents. It wasn't right to pit them against each other at such a young age.

But Miss Halevy supposed she should think about it. What side would her kids seek refuge in? Maybe they _would _try to find ANBU. Maybe ANBU would save them. She doubted it. She doubted half of her children would survive this war.

…

Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji had stuck together through everything. They loved each other. They would die for each other. But when Ino said she was leaving the Sannin kingdom to go to the Black Order, it nearly split them apart.

She was betraying her home. _Why?_ She said it was because she loved Sasuke-kun more than anything and she wanted to follow him. But that wasn't true. She had Shikamaru. She didn't need anyone for his or her looks. As long as he was lazy, sexist, but a genius and had a spiky dark pony and bored eyes, he was the man for her. So why was she going?

The order didn't have better food or shopping or fun or guys or thrill or clouds so _why_?

"Because I _want _to!" she whined one day. They were sitting on the deck of Shikamaru's house and watching the clouds.

"Ino, _chomp chomp_, you don't just betray your home and the place you've worked your whole life to save, _chomp chomp_, because you **feel like it**," Chouji said through a mouthful of potato chips.

"I didn't say I was going because I feel like it! I said I was going because I want to!"

Shikamaru sighed, "You say tomato, I say pot-ah-to."

"Shikamaru, it's tomato and tom-ah-to," said Ino.

"Oh."

"But _still,_ Ino, why are you going?" Chouji inquired.

"Oh, I dunno," she said.

"Ino, no offence," Shikamaru drawled, "but people don't up and leave for no reason. It's too troublesome."

"But you won't believe what I say. I can hardly believe it myself!" she said.

"Ino, Shika and I promise that we'll listen to you," said Chouji.

Shikamaru sighed again. What was up with people making promises for him?

"Oh, fine… Well, you remember that solo mission I went on a long time ago?" both boys nodded. "It was to go to the outskirts of Tsunade-sama's sector at the edge of the outlands (where Akatsuki and the rest of the fugitives are) and do a clean up job. She said it was an important mission initiated by Orochimaru-sama to stop some conspiracy against us. I don't know if she knew about it or not, but when I got there… It was horrible! There was an entire village's population spread out on the grass. There were men, women, seniors, children, and tiny babies… and they were all dead. Dead! There were a few decapitated kids and—and, oh god…" she sobbed.

Chouji's head reeled. He couldn't believe it! The Sannins that he would have trusted with his life had committed infanticide! They had killed hundreds of innocent people! And why? Why had they done it? Was there even a reason?

Ino continued, "You guys, the kingdom is corrupt. I don't want any more kids to die. I don't want the Sannins to murder anyone else! That's why I'm going. Please, come with me. Come with me so we can save them all!"

Chouji and Shikamaru were silent. They shared a glance and then looked back at their teammate.

"Okay, Ino. We'll come with you."

…

**A/N: Was this an okay chapter? I think it could use a little work.**


	4. In which we are BORED

**Dear Readers,**

** I know, I know. I've been gone for a REALLY long time and you probably had a heart attack when you found out I'd updated. But here's the new chapter. I hope you like it.**

**-In which we are boooooored****-**

The rings hurt like hell when he first got them, but now they were just an extension of his body—and contrary to popular belief, they were actually there for a reason. They ran down his ears, showing his level and prowess. But he wasn't here to brag; he was here to guard the group.

There was a figure trekking towards the walls of their fortress. Cloaked in black, he—or she—wouldn't be seen by an untrained eye. But Sai saw the person. And he jumped down to intercept.

"Who dares trespass?" he whispered.

"Only a friend, Sai," said the voice beneath the hood. He lowered his hood and bluish raven hair tumbled over his face and shoulders.

"Yuu?" what was he doing here? "It's been two years. What's going on?"

And then there was a sword pointed at his jugular.

"_Don't_ _call me that!"_ shouted Yuu.

"Okay, Kanda. Nice sword, by the way," he said as he forced a smile. But Kanda already knew about his whole façade. He just growled and rolled his eyes.

"Don't pull your stupid crap with me, Sai. I know you're just an emotionless bastard."

"Ouch," Sai said as he led Kanda through the front gate. "So what are you doing here?"

Kanda slowly padded behind him as he contemplated his answer. "I don't really know."

"Oh, the Great Kanda doesn't know something? That's a surprise," Sai raised an eyebrow.

Kanda scoffed. "Shut up, baka. I just felt like I shouldn't be working for some stupid creeps who don't even pay me. And I didn't know where else to go…"

And that's where the conversation ended. They walked in uncomfortable silence for the next seven minutes. When they reached the Akatsuki tower, Sai passed the front door in favor of the stairs that wound around the circular building until they reached the top floor (where the Akatsuki met).

Kanda sighed and followed him up. When they reached the top floor, Sai knocked on the mahogany door three times.

"Enter," called Itachi, the leader of the group.

Sai yanked open the door and held it as Kanda walked inside. He then went in and shut the door behind him.

The room was circular, like the building it resided in, and had a dark, circular table patterned with red clouds in the middle. In the chairs around the table rested the key partners of the group. Among them were Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigake, Tyki Mikk, Konan, Deidara, Zetsu, Fō, Bak Chan, etc. They were all garbed in dark cloaks that matched the table.

"Who is this, Sai?" asked Konan, who had taken over Akatsuki after Pein, or Nagato Akatsuki, had been killed.

Fō was eyeing Kanda like a piece of meat, so Sai quickly cleared his throat. "This is Kanda Yuu, Leader-sama. He traveled all the way from Suna to get here."

"And what is he doing here?" she asked.

"Um… I don't—"

Kanda butted in, "I'm here to offer my allegiance to Akatsuki. I tire of the Sannin and their foolish rule."

"_Really?_ And what can you do to help us?" asked Deidara.

"I was a blacksmith; I can supply you with weapo—" started Kanda.

"We already have numerous blacksmiths serving us. We do not need another," said Kisame.

"Well I can fight. I could serve in your army."

Itachi tapped the table and gazed lackadaisically at his fingers as though he didn't care, but he proved his attention by saying, "To serve in our military, you must undergo months of training. Are you sure you'd be ready for that?"

Kanda sighed, but noddded, "Yes, I—"

But again, he was interrupted, this time by Deidara. "Wait, you can't just come here and expect acceptance! For all we know, you're a spy!"

"I never said that I did expect that. And I have inf—"

Konan interjected, "Deidara, calm down. Mr. Kanda, I'm sorry about him. He didn't mean it; he just has a temper."

"No, he's got a point. The last time someone got 'sick of the Sannin', he betrayed us and ended up locked under the towers of the Black Order. Can you prove that you want to help us?" said Bak.

"N-No, but—"

"So why don't you just scurry back home to your mummy and let the big kids handle this?" Tyki drawled (once he woke up).

Konan raised her voice a little, "Please, guys, calm down!"

Sai sighed. The Akatsuki members were very defensive of their organization and Kanda would just have to learn the hard way.

"But seriously, I just—"

Kisame looked at Sai, "Why did you bring him here, Sai?"

"I brought him here because unlike _some _people," Sai looked to Tyki and then Fō before continuing. "I believe he can actually help us fight the Sannin."

Fō slammed her hands onto the table, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

And Tyki said, "Don't go around making accusations, boy! You're the irresponsible one! Where were you when Kabuto attacked us?"

"I _told _you, I was on a mission—" Sai began. (Kanda: "What is up with you guys and interruptions?")

"Mission my ass! You were probably shacking up with one of your so called contacts!" said Fō.

But Tyki didn't think so, "Or _you're_ a spy. You always disappear when we need you the most. Where exactly do you go? To the enemy, to spill all our secrets?"

That was it! Sai and Tyki were more rivals than friends, but he had gone too far this time, so Sai furiously grabbed a dagger—a kunai—and threw it at Tyki. But Mikk just let it phase through him.

But now Konan had had enough. "EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" she screamed as the lights went out.

…...…

Once they had made it out of the city, Sasuke and his team ran as hard and fast as they possibly could until they were at least thirty miles away. Exhausted and dirty, they made their way to the nearest town and relaxed at the pub.

Sasuke made his way to the bar and leaned against the hard wood.

"What'd ya want?" asked the barkeep.

"Water," he said, "Five." They couldn't be intoxicated if they wanted to make a quick escape.

The fat man grunted and poured five glasses before clanking them down onto a tray. "Here ya go."

Sasuke went to his team, who found a table near the door. They all took one glass and gulped down the water quickly. They sat in silence for a while.

"…So… Allen, what's been going on with you lately?" asked Lavi awkwardly.

Allen jumped from examining his nails and blushed before he explained. "Well, mostly I've been hanging out in Oto, trying to get some information, but everyone's been on the down low recently. But I did go to visit Kanda and Tenten."

"Really? How's Tenten? Oh, and Kanda, of course," said Lavi.

Juugo rolled his eyes, "Lavi, we all know you want Tenten. Why do you even try to cover it up?"

"W-W-What are you talking about? I have absolutely no feelings for Tenten!"

But no one was swayed. And he slouched in his chair, surrendering.

"Who else knows?" he asked, to which Sasuke replied "everyone."

"Does Neji know?" he asked nervously. Suigetsu shook his head. "He's too caught up in his 'destiny' and 'I can see the future' crap to notice."

Lavi breathed out loudly. "Thank Kyuubi for that!"

"But seriously, how are they?" asked Suigetsu.

"Well, Tenten is good. She's a bit angry at Lee for being so invested in the government and about the fact that half of her stash of weapons was stolen for Jiraiya's armies. And Kanda's just Kanda. He's pissed at the world for no reason, pissed at the Sannin for taking his only source of income, pissed at Lenalee for always bugging him while he's _working_, pissed at us for leaving, and on and on and on…" said Allen.

"Well that's good," said Suigetsu before turning to Sasuke. "Hey, could you get us some _real_ drinks? Water just isn't doing it for me today."

"No," said Sasuke bluntly.

"But—"

"No."

So Allen stood and said, "Okay, I'll get something."

Sasuke sighed and left the table to explore the town, which turned out to be one of the most boring places on the planet, so he went back to the bar when he heard someone talking to a man in a black uniform.

"Have you seen these men?" asked the man in black as he held up something to show the townsperson.

"Well, it depends. Who's asking?" asked the sly man.

The man in black shoved him against the building behind them. "That is on a need to know basis."

"Fine, fine! Geez!" the guy said, choking as the man elbowed his throat. "They went in there!" he said, pointing at the bar.

Sasuke rounded up his friends as fast as he could and they quickly fled the bar, with the Sannins' assassins hot on their trail. Suigetsu hopped onto Juugo's back and started directing waves of water at them. Allen was unconscious in Lavi's arms (he shouldn't have drank anything) and couldn't control them. At one point, Sasuke might have told him to drop the younger boy, but he owed the over eater a debt and would stick to it.

"Sasuke!" Suigetsu screamed, "I can't hold them off forever!"

That would be a problem. The Uchiha cursed; contrary to popular belief, he did have his limits, and he'd mostly expended his powers for now. But he could manage to pull something off. Probably. Maybe. He'd try.

"Okay, Suigetsu. You may rest."

He turned and ran towards the enemy, catching them off guard and causing them to halt. The raven smirked and drew back his arms, gathering energy. His eyes fluttered shut and all was silent. Well, almost all.

"Hurry, Sasuke!" shouted Lavi. "They're going to try to stab you!"

And then he unleashed his terror and threw the puny army back to the village. But as he turned to run, his legs gave out on him and he fell.

...

Juugo ran to catch Sasuke, who grunted in thanks and told him where to take the group. They ran until they stumbled upon a clearing in the forest. There, they laid to rest and drink.

"Holy shit!" Suigetsu exclaimed loudly as he stretched. "I didn't think we'd get out of there alive!"

"Thank you, Sasuke. I thought we were going to be captured again, especially with Allen being such a lightweight!"

Sasuke smirked, but they all knew he was glad they were safe.

Juugo stared at the sky once more before he heard a crack and darkness obscured his vision.

**PS – Sorry if it sucks; I had to force myself through this chapter. And is this kind of emotionless to you?**


	5. Chapter 5

So sorry, guys, but I'm abandoning this story. I still love -Man, but I have completely lost interest in Naruto and am thus discontinuing this story. If anyone wants to adopt it, just PM me.


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